Site Mobile Navigation

President Opposes Easing Rights Bill

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 —President Johnson said today that he was fully committed to the civil rights bill as it passed the House of Repre­sentatives, and that he hoped it would clear the Senate without amendment.

Reports that he was will­ing to compromise on the con­troversial public accommoda­tions sections of the measure, he said at his news confer­ence, were “strictly Repub­lican in origin.” [Question 16, Page 44.]

Mr. Johnson also announced that he had chosen Mrs. Frankie Muse Freeman, a former assistant attorney general of Missouri, as the first woman member of the Federal Civil Rights Commis­sion. [Opening statement.]

Mrs. Freeman, who is as‐

In other statements that af­fected domestic affairs, Mr. Johnson took the following po­sitions:

He refused to confirm or deny reports that special seeu rity precautions were taken for him in Florida on Thursday be­cause of reports that a suicide pilot would try to ram his plane. [Question 1.]

He would not say whether he would debate his Republican opponent in the campaign, and he would not indicate whom he thought that opponent would be. [Questions 10 and 12.]

He pledged to do everything he could to give the people the information they needed to make intelligent political judg­ments. [Question 15.]

He said he had “seen noth­ing” done by Henry Caboe Lodge, the Ambassador to Souti Vietnam, “ that's in any way in terfered with his work our there,” despite domestic political plans “that some of him friends may have for him.” [Question 5.]

Stands on House Bill

In his comments on the civil rights bill, Mr. Johnson passed­up an opportunity to point tosections of the measure on which he might compromise.

He is in favor, he said, of the measure “passing the Sen ate exactly in its present form''

He realizes he continued, that “there will be some Senators who will want to strangthen it some who will want to weake it, but so far as this Administration is concerned its position is firm, and we stand on the House bill.”

The public accommodations section of the rights bill is itsmost hotly contested provision It would outlaw discrimination against Negroes in restaurants hotels and other places of publ accommodation.

Charges have been made the Mr. Johnson would be willing to have this part of the bill watered down to get the meas ure passed. Others have sug­gested that its softening was part of a “deal” involving also the passage of the Administra tion's tax legislation.

In private conversations, the President has emphasized that he considers passage of the pu lic accommodations section vital to the bill. It is on that section he believes, that the Negr community has based most of its hopes for a quick step for ward in the civil rights cam paign.

Thus, Mr. Johnson does not consider it politically feasible to compromise on public accommodations, even if he were in­cined to do so.

Reports to the People

On the report that the Secret Service had been protecting him from a suicide plane Thurs day, Mr. Johnson conceded only tht there had been "reasons fortaking additional precautions

Asked if he planned to follow the “fireside chat tradition.” Mr. Johnson said he considereit “important for the people to know the problems that com front” the President.

“A man's judgment on any given question is no better than the facts he has on that ques tion,” he said, “so I go along with the view expressed by jef ferson that the collective judgmentof the many is much to preferred to the selective cisions of the few.”

So, he said, he planned to have his news secretary, Pier Salinger, meet the press twio daily, he would see individua reporters himself, “and I may see some of my old‐time friend socially, occasionally, and hope without too much criti cism.”

In addition, he said, he will hold some news conferences.in his office; “other times, I'll have a meeting like this to reach the folks who the press may not he able to reach through the ordt nary newspaper or magazinle media.”

The latter comment alluded to the live television and radio coverage of today's news conference.

Mrs. Freeman, whom the President said he would appoim to the Civil Rights Commission is a graduate of Hampton In stitute at Hampton, Va. She holds a law degree from Howard University and has been a mem­ber of the Missouri bar sine 1949.